Toilets are sanitation receptacles located in bathroom facilities for collecting and disposing of wastes, namely urine and feces. Toilets may comprise a toilet bowl having a toilet seat, an optional cover, and a flushing mechanism. These receptacles are typically configured for sitting positions. While a person can flush a toilet to dispose of waste into sewage lines and septic systems, there may remain an unpleasant odor that lingers in the surrounding environment, particularly when one defecates. This situation can be a source of embarrassment to the person. Current methods to remove this odor include the use of air fresheners and venting systems. However, air fresheners may only slightly mask the odor, and vents are typically located in the ceiling of the bathroom; thus, the odor can still linger.
Another method to mitigate this problem is to remove the odor directly from the toilet before it can permeate into the surrounding environment. For example, US20020002735 of Moon discloses a stench eliminating apparatus having a plurality of suction inlets formed underneath a seat plate for sucking in air within the toilet bowl, a suction passage formed along a margin of the seat plate for collecting the air sucked in through the plurality of suction inlets, a blower mounted in communication with the suction passage, and a drain passage communicating with a discharge outlet of the blower. However, a disadvantage of Moon is that the discharge outlet is connected downstream of a sink p-trap. As known to one of ordinary skill in the art, a P-trap creates a water seal to block odors from emanating from a septic system. Thus, by placing the discharge outlet after the p-trap, the Moon apparatus creates another avenue for sewage gases to escape through the suction inlets, which would worsen the stench in the surrounding environment.
Another example is provided in U.S. Pat. No. 4,876,748 of Chun, which discloses a toilet bowl venting and deodorizing structure incorporating a housing having an air inlet means at one end, air outlet means at the other end, an air filtering panel means within the housing, and an electric motor including a rotatable output shaft portion and a pair of axial flow impellers mounted on the rotary output shaft within the housing on opposite sides of the air filtering panel means. The inlet opening communicates with an area adjacent the upper rim portion of an associated toilet bowl through the utilization of a flexible conduit and the motor is operably connected to a suitable source of electrical potential through a pressure switch designed to be closed upon downward force being applied to the hinged seat portion of the associated toilet bowl. However, the air inlet means is oriented laterally relative to the upper rim portion such that the inlet openings face sideways. When in operation, debris and fluids may be suctioned into the air inlet means. For instance, toilet paper may be drawn to the air inlet means thus blocking the inlet openings. As such, there is a need for an odor remover that can effectively remove malodor without interfering with toilet usage.
Any feature or combination of features described herein are included within the scope of the present invention provided that the features included in any such combination are not mutually inconsistent as will be apparent from the context, this specification, and the knowledge of one of ordinary skill in the art. Additional advantages and aspects of the present invention are apparent in the following detailed description and claims.